Drug cartels creating Mexico’s ‘lost generation,’ Post reports

A heartbreaking read in The Washington Post today describes “the lost generation” of Mexican teens being created by cartels that hired them. Census figures show that a third of Mexican teenagers don’t work or attend school.

Officials on both sides of the border fear such children are part of “a generation that venerates cartel barons and views trafficking as a form of rebellion as well as an escape from poverty.”

“They’ll risk their futures for an iPod, and there is almost an endless supply of teenagers,” said a U.S. immigration official in San Diego.

When a boss is done with a teen, another teen is hired to get rid of him. Martin Barron Cruz of the National Institute of Criminal Science in Mexico used “dispose” to describe this transaction.

“In some parts of this country, it would appear that the only options for children are to immigrate to the United States or become traffickers,” said Teresa Almada of the Center for the Assistance and Promotion of Children in Juarez.

Meanwhile, U.S.-bought weapons continue to arm cartels and the recession keeps many unemployed.